In Pay The Fan you get to start a quarterback twice out of their 16 games, and you only need one QB per week, so you need to select those QBs very carefully! You have to start planning your season out early and then adjust as the season goes on. So here is a schedule grid all color coded and geeked into a realm of geekdom I find myself crossing over way too often. Click on it to make it bigger (that’s what she said).

I used this grid to take a look at my top fantasy quarterbacks and find some of their most favorable matchups throughout the season. I try to lean toward home games, dome games and warm weather games and also stay away from week 16 and 17 for teams I think have at least a chance to wrap things up early. This WILL change. It will probably change before the first regular season game, but it will probably drastically change midway through the season. Pass defenses become injury riddled, young secondaries lather up in gel, Qubes have bones Joe Theismanized, and so on and on. But Pay The Fan is set up so you have to continuously look into the future so you don’t end up screwing yourself in the present.

So far we only have 10 players, including myself, in our Razzball Pay The Fan League. Those are pretty good odds for our $100 league prize and of course you have a shot at the overall weekly prize and the overall overall prize (which isn’t a pair of overalls).

Here are the quarterbacks. I bolded the matchups that looked promising. It’s kind of like a cool game of Sudoku if I knew what that was. How do you think your 17 weeks would look? Remember, you can only start one QB per week and you can only use a QB twice:

Doc, this is my first time posting to the football side of things over at Razzball, but I’ve been checking you out for a little while now, and I like your style (I didn’t mean for that to sound like some kind of weird comeon).

I just drafted my first team of the year in a 14-team league with no flex position. I am a relative noob to fake football, and I would like a ‘pert’s opinion on how my team looks.

@doc – your are a stubborn one Mr Doc. EVERYWHERE I read says that Walter is with the first team and Jones is with the second team. Competition is over – at least for the start of the year. Do I feel that Jones could take over the two spot by week 6? Yes, very possible. But to start the year Walter is the #2.

@Greg: Yeah, I like the guys over at Rotoworld. Have good conversations with them on Twitter. Of course don’t always agree, but I’ll use their agreement to my advantage!

I’m not too worried about Harvin not playing. His ceiling gets lowered by not being able to practice as much as he should, but he’ll be out there. Berrian moves up if Rice can’t go and even if he isn’t lights out, he isn’t hurting anymore. Rice should play. Wish I knew when though. I wonder if Walker even makes the team. He’ll have to show me something against a 1st string D before I worry about him.

@Art – I am the BIGGEST Felix Jones supporter out there (trust me just ask Doc), I begrudgingly agree that Foster is the better play. Some sites have him ranked in the top 10. Felix Jones is in the 30s and that is PPR rankings. I see Jones personally as more of a top 25 guy….but either way get on the Foster train…

@dave – I’m not Doc…and don’t make the move w.o his opinion….But I don’t blink… I pull the trigger. Wayne is fading a bit but Wells still isn’t the man in Arizona…..so thats a wash per sae. Marshall and Wayne is SUBSTANTIALLY better then Marshall Avery/Britt…. you still have Bradshaw and Bush – either one of them coul turn into the #1 RB…..TRADE!

Hey Doc, love the site. Just found out I’m picking ninth in a standard 12-team non PPR redraft that starts 3 wr. Going by your rankings I would probably go RB-RB in the first two rounds with Mendenhall and then perhaps DeAngelo or Matthews. I just can’t help but be a little skeptical of taking Mendenhall in the first round, I’m tempted to go Brees or Randy Moss. Please help talk me through this?

@Howbone: I’m ok with grabbing a top receiver there as well. I’m starting to lean more that way as the season gets ramped up, but i am still a big Mendy supporter. Check out his numbers from last season. He didn’t play the full season and Big Ben was throwing for a ton of yards. They will rely more on the run this year and Mendy will be used more and more in the passing game. I have heard some rumblings of him losing some goal line looks to Redman, but that’s all rumor. I’m still taking him before the non-AJ receivers in the first round, but the receiver strategy is sound because they are more reliable, but they also have a lower ceiling. That’s the trade off.

@doc – yup index has Foster him 10th in PPR leagues….rankings came out late last nite. I concur on Kubiak but he just doesnt have the horses in the stable this year…whether he like it or not Foster is the man he has no choice…

HELP! I have a horrible team in a 14 team league and have to keep 3 players. As you can see, RUN DMC and Slaton completely have screwed me in the last couple of years, so I need to keep 3 players. Any and all advice would be helpful, from commenters and of course from Doc and Grey. Thanks. I’m thinking Moreno and 2 others… Here is my pathetic team:

Doc, thanks for putting the chart together. I can not wait to see the charts for RB and WR. Have another cold one, you only have a couple weeks to put your color palette together for each position. After looking at the QB palette I will have to take Romo on Thanksgiving. Stuffing anyone?